Computer systems have become an indispensable tool used in modern life. Nearly every business and government agency is now dependent upon computer systems for digital communication, project planning, document creation, information storage, transaction processing, inventory management, financial operations, and a large number of other mission critical services.
Although individual pieces of computer hardware and computer software can easily be replaced by an entity using computer systems by purchasing new computer equipment or computer software, the entity's accumulated stores of data cannot easily be replaced. The accumulated store of data is critical for allowing a business and government agency to continue operating. Thus, maintaining access to the accumulated data and protecting that accumulated data is one of the most critical parts of any modern information technology infrastructure for a business, government agency, or any other entity.
Two important features in providing data storage within an information technology infrastructure are high-availability (HA) data services and disaster recovery (DR) services. High-availability encompasses the task of ensuring that the stored data is available almost all of the time. Thus, even when system maintenance is being performed or when there are minor hardware, software, or network problems, a high availability data storage system will continue to provide access to stored data. Disaster recovery refers to the ability to restore a data storage system even when a major disaster strikes an information technology site such as a data center burning down.
An ideal data storage system will be able to provide both high availability and disaster recovery services. Products and services for providing both high availability and disaster recovery data service exist but such products tend to be expensive and complex. Small and medium sized entities can have difficulties in deploying data storage systems that provide both high availability and disaster recovery services. Thus, it would be desirable to provide systems that provide high availability and disaster recovery data storage service with lower costs and less complexity.